Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Enthusiast Zone > Gaming > WASD vs. QWES

WASD vs. QWES
Thread Tools
ibook_steve
Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Jose, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 1, 2014, 09:30 PM
 
Am I the only person who likes to use the QWES keys instead of the now standard WASD for FPS? I ask because now I even see keyboards optimized specifically for WASD and I've used QWES forever. It just seems more intuitive to me to move left or right while you're moving forwards, not backwards. Thoughts?

Steve
Celebrating 10 years and 4000 posts on MacNN!
     
P
Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 2, 2014, 04:54 AM
 
I use WASD because it feels more natural to rest my arm on the desk with the longer finger one row further up than the others. That also means that each finger naturally has one button further down to move often to: W to S, little finger from Shift to Control, A to Z, and D to C. In general leaves the index finger with a wealth of less-used buttons to move it to, and the ring finger can reach Tab and Q. Moving my hand up would move the ZXC row out of reach, the little finger to Caps Lock or Tab, with Shift and Control far out of reach. The thumb can only usably reach spacebar anyway (too fat a finger to start tapping the letters, and Command rarely does anything since that key is the Windows key on that platform, and bound to the OS). I do see how it might make sense for weapon switching on the number row, but I don't do that often enough.

Note that Bioware games have A and D as turn, and Q and E as strafe, so you effectively play with QWES - or remap.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
abbaZaba
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Pittsburgh
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 2, 2014, 03:22 PM
 
That is crazy. Never heard of QWES before. Seems very uncomfortable. I have always used WASD with Q and E serving quick tap functionality for weapon switching or something similar.
     
Leonard
Professional Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 2, 2014, 04:24 PM
 
When I was gaming on the Mac I used WASD, because Q and E were used to strafe left and right. I think I then used G, V, or B for an action. Ex. entering/leaving a vehicle

either that or I used IJKL
Mac Pro Dual 3.0 Dual-Core
MacBook Pro
     
ibook_steve  (op)
Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Jose, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 2, 2014, 06:07 PM
 
It's perfectly comfortable for me. You're moving forward most of the time, so circle strafing with Q or E and W makes perfect sense. When I try using WASD, I'm not able to keep my ring and index finger curled enough to hit A and D. Maybe my 3 middle fingers are closer in length to each other than other people.

Steve
Celebrating 10 years and 4000 posts on MacNN!
     
Demonhood
Administrator
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Land of the Easily Amused
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 5, 2014, 05:02 PM
 
You people are weird. I use ESDF because your fingers are already there. It enables A to be used for crouching and I'm never going to accidentally hit CAPS LOCK.
( Last edited by Demonhood; Dec 9, 2014 at 01:59 PM. )
     
lpkmckenna
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Toronto
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 6, 2014, 01:48 PM
 
QWES sounds really weird. Pulling your middle finger backwards to a lower row to back up while leaving your other fingers on the higher row just feels unnatural to me.

Being a lefty, I use PL;' and usually use RETURN for jump and SHIFT for crouch.

Also, I use the laptop trackpad instead of a mouse. (Haven't owned a mouse in years.) Clicking to fire doesn't work since it messes up your aim, so I use SPACE to fire. Works awesome. I usually click and hold with my thumb to zoom in.
     
Mike Wuerthele
Managing Editor
Join Date: Jul 2012
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 6, 2014, 02:25 PM
 
I've got no better place to put this, but what about an Xbox 360 wireless controller with the Tattiebogie HID driver (Tattiebogle.net - Mac OS X driver), or just straight-up the PS4 controller?
     
P
Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 6, 2014, 05:01 PM
 
Depends on the game, but for a first person shooter, nothing beats mouse&keyboard.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Leonard
Professional Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 7, 2014, 12:36 AM
 
I have to agree with "P", when playing on the computer, nothing beats a keyboard and mouse. In fact when I changed over from the Mac to the Xbox 360, it took me awhile to get used to an Xbox controller.
Mac Pro Dual 3.0 Dual-Core
MacBook Pro
     
ibook_steve  (op)
Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Jose, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 10, 2014, 02:43 AM
 
Yeah, for FPS, I always use the keyboard instead of a controller.

Steve
Celebrating 10 years and 4000 posts on MacNN!
     
boy8cookie
Mac Elite
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: I'll let you know when I get there...
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 12, 2014, 03:27 PM
 
Originally Posted by Demonhood View Post
You people are weird. I use ESDF because your fingers are already there. It enables A to be used for crouching and I'm never going to accidentally hit CAPS LOCK.
This is the only right answer
     
Amber Neely
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Pennsylvania
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 23, 2014, 07:53 PM
 
You guys legitimately opened my mind to a world of "oh my god what" right now

I had no idea QWES or ESDF were even a thing. What other weird stuff have I been missing out on? Tell me your secrets.
     
P
Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 23, 2014, 09:23 PM
 
Weird stuff? Gaming mice now store their settings inside the mice itself, so if you set the thumb key to say V (as I now have it for Dragon Age), that is stored in the mouse itself and the mouse will always send a V - even if I move it to the Mac. Caught me off guard until I figured out what was happening.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
mattyb
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Standing on the shoulders of giants
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 24, 2014, 11:24 AM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
Depends on the game, but for a first person shooter, nothing beats mouse&keyboard.
Wrong.

     
Jawbone54
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Louisiana
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Dec 29, 2014, 08:16 PM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
Wrong.

Wow...

I actually saw one of these as a demo unit today. It felt a lot better than it looks.

OT: I can't imagine using QWES. Too much muscle memory to overwrite after so many years. I can see how ESDF would be an option, although the little marker on the F key might throw me off.
     
boy8cookie
Mac Elite
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: I'll let you know when I get there...
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 2, 2015, 06:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
Wrong.

I had the first one of these made, the belkin n52 I believe.

It was terrible. Keys far too stiff, direction pad was shit. I wonder how this one compares.
     
mattyb
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Standing on the shoulders of giants
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 4, 2015, 05:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by boy8cookie View Post
I had the first one of these made, the belkin n52 I believe.

It was terrible. Keys far too stiff, direction pad was shit. I wonder how this one compares.
Me too. I liked mine. Never had anything else to compare it with so I guess I just accepted its faults without thinking. It was always better (for me) than using a keyboard. Probably a waste of money for a player like me, but my wrists weren't as sore after a few hours gaming.
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:12 AM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,